I'm looking to rebuild my bike into something more aggressive – at the moment frame is too big and ride is very stretched out with weight forward. Together with old 80mm travel forks, I struggle with drop offs etc.

Looking at onone 456 frame + RockShox Recon Race Solo Air 120 + rest of kit off current bike (xt groupset+ hope breaks + 721s).

What do you think? Good combination? Good value for money? Hopefully can put this together for about £450.

Any other suggestions? Blue pig has been suggested, but stretching budget…

Thanks,
LS

Ive got a 456 with 120mm Recons. All good – rides well both climbing and on the downs. Feels more much more confident feeling on the downhills/technical stuff, but a bit more luggish on the flat sections compared to my old standard inbred which i ran for years with rigids or 80/100mm forks.

£285 for recons sounds pricey
There must* be something a little better with 120-150mm travel somewhere on merlin, crc or on-one at the moment for that sort of money?

*I would imagine

Considered a hilariously cheap CRC Mmmbop?

If I was you, and my wheels would work with it, I'd be buying some used Pikes.

Could get a reba from merlin for that £. Or have a look at the new recon coil they're doing for under £200, bit heavier but probably smoother than a smooth thing & could be extended to 120 mm. Serious lack of shorter travel coil forks these days to satisfy the weight weenies, but this new RS fork looks the b*llocks. I'm sure they'll suit the industrial nature of a 456,Think of it as a more versatile [& cheaper! Orange P7, the one with the vanilla]

Low maintenance, bit of platform damping & Bobs your auntie not your enemy. Loving my 8 year old fox vanilla set to 100mm set up with a bit of platform. [can't shorten new vanilla's, they're set at 140]

Rebas here for under £250. Travel can be upped to 120mm.

pikes here for just over 300 plus rebas and recons arent badly priced either at ribble

Budget option, but what about the RS Sektor U-Turns? My mate runs a Ti 456 with Revelation U-Turns and it's his go-to bike, despite having a veritable hareem in his garage.

That sounded wrong. You know what I mean.

RS Sektor U-Turns

Anybody ever ridden these? They seem like a bargain at ~£250.

Thanks for all the advice guys, much appreciated.

@james: budget also also needs to cover new stem, brake mount adapter, probably headset, BB, cables etc, and maybe new seat post (and those bits you didn't think of until you're standing there with a 90% complete bike).

@Northwind – I hadn't, but I am now… any idea how it would run with 120mm forks (130+ recommended). Keen to use current wheels so need std QR.

@inkster: can't find any advice on adding travel to coil recons – do you need change the coil? remove a spacer?

@boxelder: reba adjustment – would need a dose of nerves for me to take apart brand new forks and take a bit out, but seriously considering it.

@FlyingOx: sektors look good, but may as well take advantage of the discounts on last years lineup.

Thanks, LS

"the new recon coil they're doing for under £200, bit heavier but probably smoother than a smooth thing & could be extended to 120 mm"
Are you sure you can change the travel on non U-turn coil Rockshox forks? You can with non U-turn air forks, but I didn't think you could with non U-turn coil ones due to the preload adjustment? I could be wrong

"budget also also needs to cover new stem, brake mount adapter, probably headset, BB, cables etc, and maybe new seat post .. "
Merlin have 130mm RS tora solo air, Coil pike weight, but £110 posted if you wanted to keep the cost right down?

"would need a dose of nerves for me to take apart brand new forks and take a bit out, but seriously considering it."
Just follow the manual downloadable online, you've got to take it apart anyway if you're servicing it yourself

Recon all travel adjustment 80/100/120 requires removing a spacer & topping up with oil [or making sure you save any oil when you remove lowers]. Pretty simple job, though LBS will probably do it for £15-20. [My LBS did it for £15 on girlfriends reba]

Merlin selling them @ 100mm. they might do the adjustment for you if you ask nicely.

Recon all travel adjustment 80/100/120 requires removing a spacer & topping up with oil [or making sure you save any oil when you remove lowers]. Pretty simple job, though LBS will probably do it for £15-20. [My LBS did it for £15 on girlfriends reba]

Merlin selling them @ 100mm. they might do the adjustment for you if you ask nicely.

Recon will be MUCH better & MUCH lighter than tora. Better damping, smoother low friction alu upper legs, alu steerer e.t.c.

Nearly all RS forks have adjustable travel, you dont need u-turn unless you want to adjust on the fly, and with a 456 you'll prob find it perfect all the time at 120mm

Recon will be MUCH better & MUCH lighter than tora. Better damping, smoother low friction alu upper legs, alu steerer e.t.c.

It depends on which Toras you are talking about. My old Toras had Motion control damping, the same as Recons, steel stanchions have less friction than Alu (which is why you have to anodise it) and the weight difference between a coil U-Turn tora and a Recon U-Turn is not that much either. Certainly not compared to a Reba or something anyway.

Poppa's right, some toras' are better than others and Merlin has some of the better ones on offer. Still, at least half a pound difference like for like [coil or air], which is quite a bit hanging off the front of your bike. Recon weight difference exactly half way between reba and tora

I take your point about the smoothness of steel as well actually, though they can rust over time [vs fact that alu can wear]. Just that I don't think many would take steel uppers over alu, for the weight penalty alone, let alone the snob / bling factor.

How many 'quality' xc / trail forks come with steel uppers?…erm, none I can think of !

Just think the new reba coil looks a killer deal, don't need to buy shock pump, less maintenance issues, looks the b*llocks over a tora. Toras'

If budget a big issue, then as Poppa says, a tora with motion control is prob the way to go, I'd just say steer [ha!] clear of the cheaper toras'

2nd hand RC40 XCAM's?

"@Northwind – I hadn't, but I am now… any idea how it would run with 120mm forks (130+ recommended). Keen to use current wheels so need std QR."

Haven't a clue 🙂 But you haven't bought the forks yet, so why does it matter? Set of 140mm QR Revs or 32s or Recons

Nothing wrong with Tora 318s btw, heavy but good and very strong/stiff.

flipside of extending a reba is shortening a Revelation. the Rev Race is 330 at merlin, but 300 at checkout (extra 10% off). Comes set at 140mm but with spacers included to reduce travel. Sell the poploc on here for ~20 quid and the forks have effectively cost you 280.

Ive got em on a 456 at the full 140mm and theyre fine but reduced Revs are possibly going to be a better bet than maxed-out Rebas as you have room to play with, given your stated needs?

I'd go (and have done) with a new 456 frame and some s/hand coil Pikes

That's what I run on my 456 and it loves them.

After that, I also have a pair of coil Recons (QR) which are just as plush, just a bit more twangy on the steering.

Thank you all for the advice. I ended up going for a Ragley mmmBop with Revelations with the Hope Minis, XT drivetrain and Merlin built wheels nicked off my old bike. Took me about a month longer than planned to built (my now 9 week old son’s arrival redirected my attentions).

Really enjoying riding it – slacka angles and long travel give me confidence on the downhills i didn’t think I had.

Cheers, Lockers

Thanks to whoever I’ve copied with the double sticker, white on black